Troubleshoot wireless devices
Users can connect many peripherals and devices to their computers when they use wireless connections. Two commonly used wireless technologies are:
- Bluetooth. Bluetooth is primarily designed for direct device-to-device connections. While it uses far less power than other wireless technologies, such as Wi-Fi, it supports lower data transfer speeds. As a result of the low power usage, Bluetooth has a short communications range, which is usually around 30 feet (9 meters).
- Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi uses a hub-based network design that's tailored especially for networking. It uses more power and supports much higher data transfer speeds, especially compared to Bluetooth. Wi-Fi's wavebands have relatively high absorption and work best for line-of-sight use. Walls, pillars, home appliances, and so on may greatly reduce it communication range, but this also helps minimize interference between different networks in crowded environments. An indoor access point (or hotspot) often has a range of about 66 feet (20 meters), while some modern outdoor access points claim to have ranges up to 490 feet (150 meters).
When comparing these two wireless technologies, Bluetooth is ideal for small devices that you want to wirelessly link together within the same room. However, Bluetooth isn't designed for high-speed network access. It's primarily used to exchange files between nearby portable devices, to connect cell phones and music players with wireless headphones, and for peripheral devices, such as wireless mouse devices and keyboards.
In comparison, Wi-Fi is great for high-speed wireless networking. However, because it uses more power than Bluetooth, and given its technical design, it isn't an ideal wireless solution for ad-hoc connections between devices. Wi-Fi is commonly used to provide services in private homes, businesses, and public spaces. For example, Wi-Fi technology is often used to provide local network and Internet access to devices that are within Wi-Fi range of one or more routers that are connected to the Internet.
Troubleshoot wireless devices
When you're troubleshooting wireless devices, it's helpful to note that problems that devices encounter might be due to wireless connectivity rather than with the actual devices. For example, many laptop computers allow users to disable the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth ports, primarily to conserve battery power. However, you must ensure that you enable all ports. Furthermore, for Bluetooth, you should ensure that you configure all ports to be discoverable during the process of pairing the device with the user’s computer.
If you can't connect a device successfully by using a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection, perform the following steps:
Enable the Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth receivers in the computer’s BIOS. On some computers, you can't independently enable or disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Turn on the Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth receiver by using the computer’s switches or keyboard shortcuts.
Ensure that Flight mode is turned off, as this disables all radio receivers.
Use Device Manager to verify, and if necessary update, the drivers for the computer’s Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth modules.
For Bluetooth devices, use the Bluetooth section in the Settings app to configure:
- Discovery. Enable discovery to ensure that the computer is visible. Additionally, you might need to enable Discovery (sometimes also known as visibility) on peripheral devices.
- Connections. Enable the Allow Bluetooth devices to find this PC setting. Optionally, you can select the setting to Alert me when a new Bluetooth device requests to connect.
- Pairing. Some peripherals also require that you pair them to your computer. This process requires that the computer and the device exchange a passcode or key to establish the partnership. You could need to establish this process on the computer or the peripheral. The device manufacturer often defines a device’s passcode. For example, a Bluetooth headset doesn't provide you with a mechanism for defining a passcode. However, 0000 or 0001 is often the default passcode. For more information, see the vendor documentation.
For Wi-Fi devices, follow standard wireless troubleshooting techniques:
- Ensure that the devices are close enough for the signals to communicate.
- Configure the devices to use the same wireless protocol and security settings.
- Investigate possible sources of interference.
Note
Some Bluetooth peripheral devices, such as wireless mouse devices and keyboards, often come with a small Bluetooth module that you insert into a USB port on your computer. This USB Bluetooth module allows you to use cordless devices without needing a built-in Bluetooth module.